Of the Demons
by Niero
Summary: OOC; AU; Kakanaru; Sasunaru;; Beneath the surface of Naruto's unperturbed facade hide many a demon or three.


Once upon a time Namikaze Minato had been the principal of Konohagakure Academy; before that he had been a teacher, and even before that a TA. By no means was he exceedingly wealthy but it seemed to most that he quite liked it that way. He lived comfortably with his girlfriend (or if one listened to rumors, possible fiance) in a small house with a few small rooms and a small backyard. It was perhaps a little less flashy than one would expect from a successful middle aged man but he found life to be great- and it was only going to get better, what with a little bundle of joy on the way.

Despite the paperwork that all too often adorned his desk, a lot of the time he was busy daydreaming about his son; questions upon questions tumbled through his mind. What would his name be? Would he take after Minato being tanned with blonde hair and blue eyes? Or would he be the perfect imitation of his mother -red hair, grey eyes and pale skin? Perhaps he might have features of them both; pale skin, red hair and blue eyes...

And although he thought about such things often Minato couldn't really bring himself to care about how his kin would look- sure the thought of a mini-me was intriguing but... it wasn't really important. His son would look like whatever he did and he would do whatever he wanted (within reason, of course).

His son would just that- _his _son!

Still, although it was fun to spend time thinking about all of the details, the little surprises that were ensured to occur once his son was born, perhaps he could have done so at a better time; not when he was driving. Because of this sadly Minato was much too engrossed in his thoughts to take notice of the red light he drove through, or the truck that was barreling toward his small convertible, or even to hear the horn which warned him of his oncoming fate.

When Kushina was informed of her husbands death she was, to say the least, heartbroken. At least she still had one part of him though; their little bundle of joy.

That's when Jiraiya came into the picture. He hadn't seen his old student in many, many a year and to hear of his death was a surprise. To hear of his wife who was very much still alive was an even bigger one (as was her stomach, not that he'd say). He did however offer to help her, occasionally sending over some of the proceeds from his high quality works of literature (AKA 'Icha Icha'). She appreciatively accepted the hand he lent her and even decided that, in gratitude, her sons name would be after one of the elder mans characters- one from the only published book he had that _wasn't _part of the Icha Icha series. Kushina always thought that 'Tale of the Gutsy Ninja' was better than any of Jiraiya's other books, anyway.

The self proclaimed gallant man had at first tried to insist on her giving the boy a name from one of his other, more popular works. Such a request had only landed him with a beating and hell did Kushina pack one hell of a punch- her attacks could almost rival that of his ex wife, Tsunade's!

Needless to say, after Kushina had finally _convinced _the white haired man that it was best to call her son Namikaze Naruto and not Namikaze Iroppoi (or 'sexy divine wind') he had admitted that maybe, just maybe, it wasn't appropriate to call the boy by such a name... Besides, it wouldn't hurt for him to have it as a nickname!

Oh how wrong he was- after calling Naruto that once when the boy was merely 10 he'd received another beating. He learned then that Naruto obviously took after his mothers free spirit and amazing strength. His appearance though was almost exactly like Minato's, if just a tad more feminine. He was small and quite lean with skin that appeared, in color, similar to that of a pool of liquid gold. Three deep scars ran diagonally across his prominent cheekbones, looking oddly like whiskers. Jiraiya for one was unsure of how the boy had managed to acquire them, but something had told him that he'd be better of not knowing... Or maybe he just couldn't bear to know the truth.

Apart from the six carved lines his most outstanding features were his unkempt golden hair and wide eyes.

Eyes that held too much suffering; had _always _held too much suffering. They were a light cerulean and seemed to catch the light no matter from which view one looked at them. They were beautiful in an eerie sense and so very haunting that Jiraiya could never bring himself to look deeply into them, afraid of what he might uncover about both Naruto and himself. Part of him, however, already knew that it was mainly the sadness looming just beneath their depths that made him want to avert his glance.

All in all, Naruto was beautiful- an 'angelic presence among humans' according to the old but perhaps not-so-wise author. And how true that was, if his personality was anything to go by.

He was the type of person to put everyone before himself, no matter what.

Sadly Kushina had seen her son once and only for a small moment before falling to the clutches of death, caused by difficulties which commenced during childbirth- Jiraiya was never told exactly what had happened.

So he raised his student, Minato and friend, Kushina's son.

Now, 18 years later, Naruto was attending the school his father had so many years ago, under the name of 'Uzumaki'. The reason for this was because sending him to a school with the same surname as the previous principal would be odd and rouse quite the bit of suspicion, especially when the name wasn't common at all.

"Hey, Ero- Sennin?"  
The boy was home, then. Jiraiya almost sighed; it had only been recently that Naruto stopped calling him 'dad'. "What did you just say to me, brat?"  
"I called you a perverted hermit. You do know Japanese too, right?"  
"Why you-"  
"So, do you know Hatake Kakashi?"  
Shit! How did he know? Was it possible that... No, it couldn't be. "W- Who?"  
"Oh, my teacher!" Naruto laughed. He knew of the white haired mans true relation to his teacher.  
"Ah no, I'm sorry. The name doesn't ring a bell..."

The younger of the two males shrugged, slowly sauntering toward the kitchen to boil some ramen. Sure the food was unhealthy but Gods was it nice! It was his unhealthy obsession because seriously, you can't have an unhealthy obsession with something healthy... Okay well technically you could but still- ramen was, is and always will be food for the Gods!

"You must have a really bad memory, then."  
"What?!"  
"How could you not remember..."  
Jiraiya swallowed loudly. This was it; this was the end. Naruto was sure to have his head once he realized that he'd been lied to, made a fool of! Shit. MAY ICHA ICHA ALWA-  
"How could you not remember my teacher?"  
"I'M SORRY NARUTO! ...Wait, your teacher?" Well, that turned out better than expected. Much, much better.  
"Yes, my teacher! I'm sure you know him," Naruto smirked, "considering he was your ex student and all." The blond haired boy let his grin grow wider before winking at his 'dad' and running out the door. Like expected the white haired man instantly followed him though not a second after his departure Naruto walked back into the house and locked the front door before double checking the back and all of the windows- hell, he even decided to check those on the second floor.

He wouldn't put it past the crazy pervert to scale the side of the building just in an attempt to gain entrance- he'd done it before! Waking up to the old man tapping on his window was _not _something he wanted a repeat of.

Still, Naruto couldn't believe that his father had fallen for that considering his ramen was still in the making and he'd never desert something so precious. Perhaps, though, if he had been more focused on things besides food he would have noticed that no one attempted to get back into the house; he hadn't heard the jiggle of a doorknob or the tapping of knuckles upon a window.

If he had noticed he probably also would have figured out where Jiraiya had headed- which was to his school, or more specifically to Hatake Kakashi.

Sure, after he'd finished seven more bowls of ramen he worked it out, but it was too late to stop anything, really. That didn't keep him from running the whole way to his school though (for the second time that day, not to mention, as he'd missed the bus in the morning). It also didn't stop him from arriving out the front of Mr Hatake's classroom and catching the last words of a conversation.

"I haven't told him anything, trust me. I'm not really sure how he knows; he may be intelligent however he couldn't have just 'worked it out'. One more thing before you leave, Jiraiya- sensei, the way that you described him earlier- he doesn't act like that here. In fact he doesn't seem happy at all; he's reclusive and... I'm not sure how to describe it but..."

Naruto wanted to cry aloud and let out everything.  
To scream at the top of his lungs.  
To yell for help, for someone to save him before it was too late.  
To curse the god damned world for conspiring against him.

Doing any of these though would surely blow his cover so instead he settled on stepping backwards slowly, mouth agape in shock and tears beginning to trail down his scarred cheeks. Naruto had tried for so long to keep his father figure from finding out anything of how he really felt, simply because he didn't want to become more of a burden than he already was. His stupid teacher had just wrecked everything though. And now for the first time in ages he didn't know what to do.

So he ran. Sure he hadn't a clue of where he was actually going but it was school- he'd find someplace to hide soon enough. He always did. And then just because the world really _was _dead-set on conspiring against him, he ran into a wall. Okay, so maybe he wouldn't find a hiding place.

A hand rested against the back of his shoulder and he relaxed before realizing something; _since when did walls ever have hands?_ Shit!

Naruto jumped away, looking up towards the person he'd just ran into. Literally. "I- I'm sorry, I j- just..." He raised a hand to wipe the tears away, peering at the person from between his fingers. He could vaguely recognize the man but for the life of him couldn't put a name to the face. He was tall, quite a bit taller than Naruto himself, and had pale skin- almost ghostly pale. His eyes seemed to be of a brown shade so dark that they appeared black. Or maybe they were really just black. His hair was definitely so, and it was styled in a sort of odd fashion where the front was smooth, framing his face, and the back stuck up in random directions. Naruto looked away, still crying. He had a right to after all, considering the sorrow he felt wasn't for himself but instead for his elder companion... And a little for himself...

"Dobe, school has finished." The tall man smiled, looking down.  
_No, _Naruto thought, _that's not a smile. He'd faked enough to know that, that, was more of a leer if anything. _"T- Teme!"  
"Do you not know who I am? You really are a-"

"Naruto!"  
Naruto turned around slowly to see Kakashi and Jiraiya at the other end of the short corridor. He whimpered slightly and began to run past the dark haired boy in front of him until-  
"Sasuke!" Kakashi called; "grab him!" And as expected the stranger before him wrapped his arms around Naruto's neck, holding him tightly in a choke hold but loosely enough so that the boy could breathe. Jiraiya let out a sound mixed between a squeak and a snort before attempting to warn the dark haired boy about the way he was holding his son captive- he was too late, though.

Naruto grabbed the persons arms, which were currently around his neck, before curving his back slightly and leaning forward to stand up straight. Not surveying his handywork Naruto fled, leaving the man with the duck-butt hair to lay on the ground, confused as to what had happened.

"Heh, maybe it wasn't such a good idea for him to attend martial art classes after all," Jiraiya looked down sheepishly at the boy who was still lying on the ground. He couldn't help it, however, as slowly a proud expression crossed onto his face, "He's a black belt you know- 10th dan he says, whatever that means."

"Naruto?" Kakashi questioned, tilting his head to a side before lowly muttering 'but he never responds'.  
Sadly the oldest man heard it and quickly turned to face his former student. "Never responds to _what, _exactly?"

"Ne, I try to stop it!"  
"Stop _what!?"_

Kakashi slunk back, trying to make himself appear as small as possible. He almost could have sworn that his old teachers mane- hair, he meant _hair -_was growing into spikes! The usually calm and lazy man quickly became nervous, rubbing his palms together. "Jiraiya- sensei... He... A lot of people don't, um, _like _Naruto. You see he doesn't really speak or acknowledge a- anyone. Sometimes he gets into fights but I stop them. I do, I s- swear! Even ask Sasuke!"

The black haired boy, Sasuke as Kakashi had called him, was now off of the ground, standing tall. And glaring at Kakashi. Sadly for the Uchiha though, Kakashi was all too used to the expression due to being subjected to it so often- he had to spend almost every afternoon watching his student in detention... Not that he really did much but glare, anyway.

"Did you just try to blame someone else, my dear little gakusei?"  
"Iie, sensei!"

Sasuke was beginning to wish that he had ran away from them to; no wonder his blond dobe had been so eager to escape. But... he had also been crying...

After a small moment, in which Kakashi began to scream for forgiveness and Jiraiya began to chase him around, Sasuke decided that he could check up on Naruto when school started again on Monday- it was Friday now but he could wait. After all, he'd been waiting for Mondays ever since he'd first seen the boy. Another weekend wouldn't be too much.

With a small and somewhat shaky sigh Sasuke began to walk toward the exit of the school, headed to the car park where his chauffeur was waiting. The drive to his house only took a few moments and for once he was actually expressing an emotion about that (as much as an Uchiha could at least, which meant that he was smirking slightly); the closer his house meant the faster he could get to his bed and sleep. He'd been deprieved of sleep for two nights now and was just about at the stage where he'd sleep anywhere and everywhere.

Hopefully he made it to the house before he decided to collapse though, considering once he did he doubted that anyone would be able to wake him.

...Maybe that was a bit of an exaggeration, but seriously, if anyone _dared _to wake him they'd end up... meeting their end.  
Pun intended.

Naruto on the other hand, couldn't sleep at all. Nervousness was infiltrating and taking over his mind, sobs wracking his lithe frame.

Jiraiya knew, all thanks to Kakashi.

Maybe Naruto shouldn't have mentioned the whole 'your student is my teacher' thing but how the hell was he supposed to know that it would backfire on him? And what would Jiraiya do? He probably wouldn't throw him on the streets, but he could try and send him off to some 'family member' somewhere. Or what if he got a shrink involved? His crying grew somewhat louder as the possibilities played through his head. What if... What if Jiraiya really had, had enough and was planning to kick him out?

Last time he'd merely wandered off and boom- he was lost. Spending almost two days trying to find his way back home was agonizing enough; the attack that left him both physically and mentally wounded, though, was too much.

He couldn't live on the streets; last time he'd barely survived the night.

Even if now he was trained and could easily defend himself he was prone to panic attacks; anything similar to what had happened ages ago and... he'd be defenseless again. Completely and utterly at the mercy of anyone who managed to find him.

It was just when Naruto had finished thinking about this that he heard the front door slam shut. He almost leaped out of his bed, dragging half of his blankets along and tripping down the stairs, trying to find his father. Although he couldn't see him yet he began to speak, still darting around in search of the white haired man. "Dad! You can't throw me out, please!" His voice grew quieter, rougher, as if it was hard to speak. "I d- didn't mean to, it's ju- just that... please don't leave me alone. I c- can't be a- alone again..."

The moment he crumpled to the floor, defeated, was the moment Jiraiya rushed into the room, Kakashi following mere seconds after. Jiraiya cursed and knelt down next to Naruto, stroking his hair in an attempt to be comforting. "I won't leave you, Naruto; you know that!"

"T- The blood! The blood w- w- was everywhere... I didn't know... They said- they said that... Demon! I'm a d- demon. I don't u- u- understand but..." The rest of his words faded into the sobs that wracked his frame. One of his hands slowly traced the scars that littered his face. "A- Am I?"

"Never." The one word was spoken quietly but was also clear and certain.

Kakashi stood still, unmoving, watching the boy- his student -who had once seemed so sure about... He wondered how someone who had once seemed so sure about everything could actually be so defeated, so depressed. _Minato, he's like you in so many ways... _He cast another glance to the blond who was slowly calming down._But he... I don't know even how to help him... Help me help him, please! I want... I want to make him smile..._

"He's asleep."

Kakashi inclined his head, watching as his former teacher carried the blond boy upstairs. When he returned Kakashi couldn't help but to blurt out questions upon questions, not even giving Jiraiya the chance to respond.

"Calm down! One question at a time, please."

"...What was that?"  
"A panic attack of sorts."  
"I know that! But why? _What _was that a reaction to?"

Jiraiya sighed and gestured toward the couch. "Sit. Do you want anything to drink or?"  
"No."  
"You sure do make things difficult, Hatake. Anyway, I'm not really sure if I should tell you. It's not my place to-"  
"I'm his teacher."  
"I never would have guessed."  
Kakashi growled, quickly becoming agitated.  
"Like I said before, calm down! If you really you must know, I'll tell you. I don't know much though, okay so..." Jiraiya drew in a deep breath, unsure of where to start. After a few agonizing moments he began again; "Okay so when he was younger we went somewhere; I think it might have been a market or a fair, I can't really remember. Anyway, Naruto ended up wandering off and well, God knows how fast the boy can run. I searched for him but to no avail. I very well couldn't call the police, though, as he'd been missing for only a few hours. So I returned home, hoping that he'd find his way home- which he did." He paused, looking down at his shaky hands. "Sometime the next day he returned... But... He- His face... He wouldn't tell me what had happened but there was blood, so much blood. Most of it was dry but some of the wounds still seemed fresh... I went to help but he flinched and tried to get away..."

To Kakashi the story didn't seem too bad; sure Naruto had been abused, scarred physically, but... It seemed like there was more that perhaps even Jiraiya didn't know. He wanted to uncover what it was that his student was hiding- he really did want to help.

And that's why when Monday came around he was so surprised. Surprised that Naruto had actually come to school; surprised that he acted normal; surprised that he made it seem like nothing had even happened at all.

"You'll be working in pairs for this assignment," almost instantly all of the students began to get up and call across the room, "but if it seems like you're not being productive I'll switch the groups around." A few people groaned.

"Sasuke- kun! Sasuke- kun! I'll work with you, don't worry!"  
Sasuke ignored the pink haired monster before him, looking around the room. Once he finally found the person he was looking for he smirked; Sakura drew his attention back to her when she squealed in response, thinking that he was smiling for her. "I'm already working with someone else."

"Wait what? No!"

Sasuke ignored her, slowly moving toward the only person still sitting down-

"Naruto, do you have a partner?"  
"Is that an offer, Kiba?"  
"Hell yeah! You're fluent in Japanese, right?"  
"No." He was, but still.  
"Yes you are..."  
"No, I'm not."  
Kiba squinted his eyes. "I know you are."  
"Look, I alr-"

"He's my partner."  
Kiba looked up and scowled."Uchiha?" Casting a glance toward his blond friend (the term 'friend' being used loosely) and then back to the black haired boy who now stood before him he shook his head, as if in disbelief. "You're working with Uchiha?"  
"Yes, he is." Sasuke let his smirk widen.  
"Shut it, I didn't ask you!"

Naruto decided to rejoin the conversation, standing up from his chair to face both of his classmates. He recognized 'Sasuke' immediately as the boy who he'd run into on Friday. Oh yay!- not. "Um Kiba, yeah, I'll be your partner."

Sasuke's smirk fell. "Naruto, you're working with me."  
"No, I'm-"  
"Yes, you-"  
"Am no-"  
"You will-"  
"I'll flip yo-"  
"Don't sa-"

"Like he-"  
"Just shu-"  
"No I-"  
"Yes yo-"

"What's this?" Kakashi interrupted, peering at the two of his students from over the top of his book. "Are you arguing?"  
"No, he was-"  
"You weren't arguing? Okay then Uzumaki, Uchiha, you're working together." His one visible eye crinkled slightly, giving the impression that he was smiling- not that one could really tell, considering the mask he wore. "Oh and you, you're stay after class," he continued, pointing to Naruto. Kakashi really wanted to ask if his student was okay- he wanted to find out why he was acting like nothing had ever happened. He wanted...

"No."  
"What was that?"  
"No, I can't. I have to meet my dad."  
Kakashi looked at his student, raising an eyebrow. "The day has just started; after my class it would be break for you, iie? Why would you meet your father?"  
"I- I meant that..."  
"Do not worry, Uzumaki- kun, we can meet after school, instead, in detention. I hope for you lying will not become a habit." Kakashi also reminded Sasuke that he had to show up for detention too, before heading back to his desk to read. Naruto, while silently fuming, noted that the book his teacher was reading was... was...

"Why are you reading that!?"  
Kakashi peered back up toward Naruto, "Your father is a lovely author."

Naruto wasn't sure if his teacher winked or merely blinked- once again, that mask was so freaking annoying! Kiba started to laugh, clutching his stomach and keeling over slightly.

"Save it, dog breath."


End file.
